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@Enceos : First off - awesome ! When i saw it on spacedock i started reading the description, halfway through i had an idea to make this compatible/integrated with "Through The Eyes of a Kerbal" mod and that functionality was mentioned ofcourse right on the next line

Next: suggestions from "department of bright ideas"

Is there any chance to make a JSI-like system of HUD parts with functionality ? Is it possible to make a KIS inventory just for Kerbal's heads ?

If above is possible, then players could do gameplay immersion as follows:

1. Equip Kerbonauts with launch-phase head-gear

2. Kerbonauts can then change head-gear for class-specific, task-specific or mission-specific equipment

3.In first person view, headgear would provide required information to a player that is not usually accessible (look at point 2 for purpose).

Not all gear would be available on start of career mode, it would sit somewhere inside tech-tree.

Examples :

1. Engineer class may need welding mask to use welder, to permanently join two parts (to be used with RoverDude's Konstruction perma-join-Ports)

2. Scientist could examine surface samples in field through a vision-augmentation reticule, making detection of rare resources easier (or even possible, if currently no other means exist for direct observation)

3. Pilot can see in dark or fog to safely navigate atmospheres or through the void of space

4. Any of the above classes will need a gold-coated visors (in first person mode) to perform EVA tasks near Kerbol without being blinded

5. For tourist-class Kerbal, a pair of shaded/black glasses (same for space-tourists in mission control contracts)

6. Doctor/Biologist class field diagnostics for later treatment of injuries or ilnesses

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@fatcargo Thank you for the list of good suggestions, sir! Many of the functionality type things you mentioned are possible to make with skills of an experinced programmer and around two weeks of his personal time, I am not a programmer of course. The KIS props are not usable in IVA, so tourists won't wear anything.

I didn't dig into RPM type stuff, but something tells me that if button colliders work outside of IVA mode it could be possible to take the RPM Hud out into the open.

It is possible to integrate some functionality of the Indicator Lights mod into the parts, instead of a led light an icon on the visor screen would appear. But the current Indicator Lights work only with emissive shaders, which lack transparency, I had to use the particle type shader to emulate the glowing hologram stuff. The particle shader uses a different color variable called "Tint Color", which also has RGBA parameters. If the Great and Powerful mister @Snark could provide support for this shader in his mod, It would be possible to add functionality to the visor screens and more :3

Here's the look of the "EyePatch" visor from a Kerbal's perspective.

\

P.S. Bandana is available in the ProProps pack. I don't know how earrings should look on an earless kerbal head.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Enceos

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@Enceos For RPM : something could be done about it. RPM is built with extendability / accessibility in mind, so "under the hood" it's code may be open enough to be reviewed by coder for adaptation to the mentioned ideas.

b) if KSP allows clicks to parts of Kerbonaut body (attached or not) - currently unknown, i don't know of any plugins that do this

For now however, maybe a small mouse-over indicator of clickable area could be added behind Kerbal's head which allow access to all possible actions. By mouse-over i mean indicator that is displayed only when player moves mouse pointer over that area, so it does not add visual clutter and make Kerbal heads look strange while player does something else (similar to above idea of head-gear functionality, just for clicks)

Also, if possible please add to your plugin's API detection if Kerbonaut has helmet or not, so head-gear addon creators may write/design parts aware of this.

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It is possible to integrate some functionality of the Indicator Lights mod into the parts, instead of a led light an icon on the visor screen would appear. But the current Indicator Lights work only with emissive shaders, which lack transparency, I had to use the particle type shader to emulate the glowing hologram stuff. The particle shader uses a different color variable called "Tint Color", which also has RGBA parameters. If the Great and Powerful mister @Snark could provide support for this shader in his mod, It would be possible to add functionality to the visor screens and more :3

Hm, interesting, you have my attention.

IndicatorLights is currently joined-at-the-hip to emissive shaders only, but not because it particularly has to be-- that's just what was convenient for me when I was writing it. If there are other standard Unity shaders to interact with (such as "tint color" or whatever), I suspect it wouldn't be all that hard to factor in some flexibility with IndicatorLights so that it's possible to do the thing with the other shader. Need to look into this some more. No promises, but if it turns out I can do some minor tweaking to enable your scenario, I will delightedly do so.

Discussion of details will likely involve extended back-and-forth technobabble that's probably not directly interesting to users of either your mod or mine, so I'll follow up with you in PM if I have questions. Let me get back to you in a little while.

3 hours ago, Enceos said:

I don't know how earrings should look on an earless kerbal head.

How about Frankenstein-style neck bolts? (Their heads are already approximately the right size, shape, and color...)